Lincolnshire companies fined almost £20k for overrunning on roadworks

Companies have been fined a total of £19,450 in the last six months following the introduction of a Lincolnshire County Council permit scheme which sees businesses charged if roadworks overrun.

As previously reported, the Lincolnshire Permit Scheme was approved by Executive councillors on September 6, 2016, and requires companies to apply for permission before starting work on Lincolnshire roads.

As the permit authority, the county council now charges fees of between £26 and £210 for roadworks projects.

This scheme, which began on October 5, 2016, also sees fines given to firms that do not complete projects within the agreed timeframe.

The company racking up the largest amount of fines was National Grid Gas, which overran on planned works by a total of 132 days and was fined a total of £15,900 in the last six months.

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A highways spokesperson said: “The permit scheme is helping to improve the way in which we manage works taking place on the highways, ensuring that things are better co-ordinated and that more detailed information is provided to people.

“We generally have a good working relationship with utility companies and always try to work together to keep roads open for as long as possible.

“These companies carry out thousands of projects on the highways, and only a very small percentage of them have overrun. And when they have, it hasn’t necessarily impacted on the travelling public.

“That said, we will continue to keep a close eye on things and issue penalties whenever unnecessary inconvenience is caused.”